Welcome to Rachel Kramer Bussel's guest blog

Welcome Ms. Kramer Bussel to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

Did you always want to become a writer?

I didn’t always want to become a writer, but I’ve always written. When I was little, I wrote letters to the editor to every newspaper around, and they got published, too, even in The New York Times. I loved seeing my name in print and crafting words onto a blank page, but I never imagined I’d make a living through words.

What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?

Often writing is just plain boring. Even though I love writing and can’t live without it, it’s not always something I relish sitting down to do. Often it’s tedious and frustrating and the words that sounded so fabulous in my head look awful on the screen. So that would probably be somewhere in the middle of most and least interesting.

The most interesting fact is that writing always makes things clearer. I may tell myself something 100 times in my head but when I write it down, whether in fictional form or on my blog or non-fiction, it crystallizes what I’ve been thinking. Sometimes it scares me because I unearth ideas and feelings I’d rather not face at that very moment, but it’s so powerful. I’m trying to get better at keeping a daily journal for just that reason.

How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

I’ve yet to write a book (that’s on my list for 2009), but I have edited a whole lot of anthologies. My first book was called Up All Night, and it came out in 2004. I had a party at a bar and generally felt like a rockstar. The first time I saw one of my stories in an anthology was in a bookstore, and I cried. Not a lot, but a little. It was such a big moment, and then I called the editor and told her how excited I was. I try to remember that and never get blasé when a giant box of books arrived. That’s the moment when I really feel like, “Yes, all those pages and pages are actually a book.” I’ve edited over 20 anthologies now but I still have that same feeling.

How did your family react to fact that you also write romance novels? Have your family read your books?

My family knows I write and edit erotica, but we don’t really talk about it. I don’t think most of them read romance or erotica, but they are very supportive of me and are glad I’m doing what I love, for the most part.

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?

I am definitely an avid reader. I grew up reading romance, from Danielle Steel to Lavyrle Spencer to Barbara Delinsky. Now I read a lot of non-fiction, from Lisa Carver to Rebecca Walker to Jeanette Walls, pretty much any memoir I can get my hand on. A few I’ve loved recently are Accidentally on Purpose by Mary Pols and Love Junkie by Rachel Resnick. I’m influenced by everything from the news to things I read, but it’s not always so direct.

Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?

Most of what I’ve written is short stories so they don’t tend to live with me as long, but I am working on a novel that has taken longer than it should and I’m learning a lot from the ups and downs of that process. My protagonist is very different from me, I’m much more similar to her wilder roommate, so it’s interesting to work with this character who I learn from and not try to force my views onto her.

Where do you get the inspirations for your books?

Most often I get inspired by my own life, by feelings I have for lovers or crushes. It’s not always the case that my situation plays out in the writing, but the emotions are often the same. That’s my primary source, along with my friends’ lives. I also try to deliberately write from a male point of view and switch things up so I get a little variety in there.

Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?

I find writing love or sex scenes often easier than writing other kinds of scenes. I don’t often use much dialogue, so it’s usually about one character’s internal thought process, what they’re thinking and feeling and experiencing during sex.

What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine, and why?

I don’t write traditional romance, and a lot of my characters are kindof gutsy, often very independent women, but they also have a romantic streak. I wrote about a very tough woman, Denise, in my anthology Spanked, in the story “The Depths of Despair.” She, like me, is into spanking, but she pushes herself almost past her own limits and learns a lot about herself. I like that story and would love to someday continue writing about her, or do a series of interconnected short stories.

Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?

The three anthologies I’ve done on spanking (Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2, and Spanked) were the easiest, because that’s a topic near and dear to my heart, plus the writers were amazingly creative. Hardest was probably Crossdressing, because it wasn’t a topic I knew as much about when I took it on, but I came to see the beauty in it and how it crossed so many boundaries, and I learned quite a bit, plus I think the book came out so beautifully and the stories in there are sexy but also can break your heart in places. I love that combination, and especially love erotica and romance that make you think as well as feel.

If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?

This may sound narcissistic, but sometimes I read old stories that I’ve written that are based on things I’ve experienced and wish I could go back and either relive the moment or change it. I love that writing can capture such a specific time and place, whether it’s an erotic encounter or a love affair or a relationship, but things change, even after the words end. So I’d probably like to go back and relive my own life if I could, only better.

If you could travel through time to visit a special time period or famous person, what or who would it be and why?

The 1960’s, and Marilyn Monroe. She has always fascinated me and I’ve read several biographies of her. Today she is such an icon and she was certainly famous then but I would have loved to sit and talk with her and find out what she thought of all of it. She was and is a huge sex symbol and I wonder how that affected her own sex life.

Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?

Usually I like complete silence. That’s easiest for me to work with, but if I want music, I listen to my favorite bands, like The Reputation or Sleater-Kinney, or lately I’ve been listening to Juliana Hatfield’s new album How to Walk Away.

If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you as the cast?

I don’t know if I can really answer this one as my books so far have all been anthologies, but the novellas in Bedding Down are definitely meatier than the typical short stories and some I could definitely see as films. I’d just love to film a couple making love in the snow; there’s something about that combo of hot and cold that is so sensual to me. After all, you have to really, really want to get down and dirty with someone to be willing to do it in the snow for them!

Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

I’m still wrapping up that novel, Everything But…, about a virginal good girl gone bad, and also working on a book proposal based on my cupcake blog (http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com). I’d like to do a book based on my reading series In The Flesh (http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com), highlighting the amazing performers I’ve had over the last 3 years, and am working on a non-fiction book about sexuality. I do have 2 e-books coming out from Ravenous Romance (http://www.ravenousromance.com), one of true sex sex stories and one of erotica on sex and music.

Check also out her newest release BEDDING DOWN



Blurb:

Ignore the weather report—there's a heat wave coming!

Author, editor, blogger, and former sex columnist for the Village Voice, Rachel Kramer Bussel presents seven titillating tales guaranteed to steam up your bedroom windows in the midst of Mother Nature's seasonal chill. A lusty collection of scintillating erotic dreams from some of the best writers in the field, here is a sexy and sure cure for the winter blues!

Two uptight Manhattanites discover a hotspot in frigid Minnesota where they can shed their inhibitions and explore their most intimate fantasies . . .

A billionaire recluse and a beautiful paparazzo generate some serious heat in a snowbound cabin in the Colorado Rockies . . .

Combine a blizzard, a romantic old castle, a burglary, and a breathtakingly sexy devil—her perfect recipe for dangerous lust . . .

In the unfamiliar chill of a New York winter, a California sun bunny discovers the secret to igniting her boyfriend's inner erotic fire . . .

Stuck with a man she despises on her sister's wedding day, a distraught beauty resolves to be civilized—until her studly adversary lures her into a forbidden place with no rules or taboos . . .

A husband and wife whose marriage has stalled get their pistons pumping once more when a sudden winter storm strands them in their car . . .

Though she's been taught all her life never to beg, her insatiable desire for him is bringing her to her knees . . .